March NPD: Mass Effect 3 Takes Off While Overall Sales Decline

Despite the arrival of several massive new releases, software and hardware sales continued their decline in North America for the month of March 2012.

The latest NPD report shows that the month brought in $1.1billion in revenue, a whopping 25 percent less than the same period in 2011. Hardware, software and accessory sales were all down – despite the release of the PlayStation Vita in late February and Mass Effect 3 at the start of March.

Predictably, it was BioWare’s space opera that topped the charts, stealing the coveted spot from Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City which was forced to settle for second. Meanwhile, MLB 12: The Show continued to prove its importance as one of the PS3’s most popular exclusive releases, climbing into a respectable third.

Check out the full software top-ten in the list below, and let us know which titles you bought in the comments.

1. Mass Effect 3 (360, PS3, PC)
2. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (360, PS3)
3. MLB 12: The Show (PS3, PSV)
4. NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PC, PS2)
5. SSX 2012 (360, PS3)
6. Street Fighter X Tekken (PS3, 360)
7. Mario Party 9 (Wii)
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)
9. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja (360, PS3)
10. Major League Baseball 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PSP, PC, PS2)